Dear Editor,
It’s interesting to see the spin the Liberals have put on the results of the recent provincial election. Cooperation seems to be the magic word; not a word you have heard from political parties in British Columbia, or anywhere else for that matter, in Canada.
Tom Fletcher’s spin on the loss of several Liberal seats in various ridings (“Yes, Clark won the election”, The Journal, June 1) is that people just figured the Liberals would get in again with a majority, as in previous years, so they stayed home and didn’t bother to vote.
It’s a reminder of the old adage “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” B.C. politics has always been a volatile mix of voters wanting change and upsetting the apple cart, and the predictable progression of “More of the same”.
The sky has not fallen in. The victory of the Greens indicates that people want change. Both the Greens and the NDP have similar doubts about Site C and the pipelines. Many thousands of voters on the coast voted NDP. Why? Because they oppose the pipeline.
There have been vigorous protests and widespread opposition. If the NDP victories indicate anything there, it isn’t that Vancouver and the coast has turned socialist. It indicates that the NDP and the Greens are reflecting more of what the people want than are the Liberals.
Reading the financial pages of the National Post indicates LNG is deeply in debt. They are desperately trying to get financial support for the pipelines. They have not been successful. You don’t have to be a sun-orbiting astronaut to figure out why. Opposition to the pipelines has grown significantly; but that is just one factor.
Even China is trying to get out of fossil fuel reliance, and is becoming one of the leaders in developing green technology. Their cities are so polluted, the people have begun to protest. The one thing China wants to avoid at all costs is a revolution. They’ve had too many in their history. When people have to wear masks to walk the streets of cities, and respiratory disease becomes rampant, even their politicians know they have to do something about it.
I don’t know, but it seems to me the evidence is overwhelming. People know the world is changing. People want a whole new way of looking at what we call “progress”. The economy of green technology is one of the booming indicators. That’s where investors are putting their money.
Esther Darlington
Ashcroft, B.C.
Dear Editor,
As an Ahmadi Muslim, I am extremely saddened and angered by the news of the attacks in London.
It is ironic that these extremists have conducted such violence during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting where Muslims across the globe immerse themselves in self-discipline and social welfare. In fact, Islam rests on the principles of peace and tolerance, a sharp contrast to the actions of these militant groups.
They do not represent Islam. They do not represent the global Muslim community, who are the first to condemn and apologize for their actions.
I urge all readers not to let their perceptions of Islam, and their Muslim neighbours and countrymen, to be stained by the actions of a few.
I send my sincerest condolences and prayers to the victims of this attack.
Khizar Karim
Alliston, Ontario